What is Kurzarbeit?

It might be a hard word for non-Germans to get their tongues around. Kurzarbeit is a form of government work subsidy in Germany where employees get about 80% of their salary for working half-time.

The German government announced in November 2009 it was likely to extend its Kurzarbeit scheme for another 18 months. Other countries in Europe have similar schemes – such as arbeidstijdverkorting, or ATV, in the Netherlands.

The facts and figures
A paper out of John Hopkins University in the United States detailed (in English) the background of Kurzarbeit and gives a concise definition. It said Kurzarbeit permitted employers to cut working time by up to 50 percent – with employees placed on the short-time work scheme receiving between 60 and 67 percent of their net foregone wage from the German Federal Employment Agency. Employers also receive tax advantages through the scheme.

Before the financial crisis, companies in Germany could access subsidised short time working for six months. This was later temporarily extended to up to 24 months that year. At the time, the German labour minister Franz Josef Jung announced companies were set to be able to access the 24-month-long subsidy until June 2011 – opening the possibility for employees to work on a subsidised short time arrangement until June 2013.

Kurzarbeit has become widespread in Germany
The short-term work instrument has been touted as one of the most efficient measures during the 2008-2012 financial crisis. It has been popular, with about 1.5 million workers involved. Since 2000 the numbers had been much lower.

How Kurzarbeit protected employment in Germany
Data released this month by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, showed Germany was not as badly hit with job losses as many other countries in Europe. The figures indicated employment in the 27 member countries of the European Union dropped 1.9% in the year to the end of the June quarter. The drop took the number of employed people in the area to 222.7 million.

Luxembourg was the only country to have employment growth in the year – up 1%. Germany was also particularly resilient with employment down just 0.1% in the period.